Illegal construction: HC stays FIR against Kapil Sharma

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today stayed the FIR lodged against comedian Kapil Sharma over unauthorised structures allegedly constructed by him at his flat in suburban Goregaon here and directed the BMC to resolve the dispute within five weeks.

A division bench of Justices N H Patil and M S Karnik was hearing petitions filed by Sharma and Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan challenging notices issued to them by the civic body in April and September 2016 directing them to demolish illegal alterations made by them in their flats in ‘DLH Enclave’, a 18-storeyed residential building at Goregaon without requisite permissions.

The BMC today informed the court that after consultation with legal experts, it has decided to withdraw the notices.

BMC counsel N Walawalkar told the court that since the notices stand withdrawn the civil suit filed by the developer of the building–DLH Pvt Ltd–against the notices becomes “infructuous” and also the petitions filed in the High Court.

Following this, the court stayed the FIR lodged against Sharma (in the Goregaon illegal construction case) by the BMC in September last year.

As per the civic body, Sharma’s flat on the ninth floor of the building had unauthorisedly merged elevation features, ducts, common passage and part of the parking podium into the flat.

The High Court also disposed of the petitions filed by Sharma, Khan and the developer.

The bench directed the civic body to grant Sharma and others a personal hearing in the case and resolve the dispute within five weeks.

The petitioners had said that the September notice directing the demolition was “arbitrary and illegal” since the matter was already pending before the civil court.

Apart from Sharma and Khan, 13 other occupants of the building were sent notices.

Last year, the comedian had kicked up a controversy by alleging that he had been asked to pay a bribe of Rs 5 lakh by an official of BMC which, in turn, claimed that the actor had flouted norms not only in his Versova office building but also at his apartment in suburban Goregaon.